Activism Spotlight - Speaking Out in the U.S.

Protests, rallies and creative activism in the U.S.

May 29, 2006

Olympia, Washington; Washington DC; West Point; Sacramento, California; New York City, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco; University of California; Dallas, Texas.

Protesters Block Combat Vehicles in Olympia WA

The Olympia Movement For Justice and Peace organized a protest to block the delivery of military combat vehicles destined for Iraq at the Port of Olympia, Washington. A total of 16 were arrested over a three day period.

Read reports and press coverage on the OMJP web site. See the Olympian for photos and video. More photos.

Book "Crashing the Gates" Delivered to Congress

A copy book "Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of People-Powered Politics" by Jerome Armstrong (MyDD.com) and Markos Moulitsas (DailyKos.com) was hand delivered to every Democratic member of the House and Senate; 249 offices, 12 volunteers, 1 day. Each book was donated by an activist as part of the Roots Project, with the help of independent bookshop Politics & Prose in Washington DC.

Read a report on the CTG blog. See photos and video (QuickTime) from PoliticsTV.

Hundreds Protest Bush at West Point Military Academy

As Bush addressed the graduating class of the US Military Academy at West Point, hundreds of protesters gathered outside with signs and flag draped boxes symbolizing coffins.

Read a report on the Mid-Hudson News.

Cheney "Greeted" in Sacramento, Arnold Skips Town

Hundreds gather to protest Dick Cheney in Sacramento for a fundraiser for Congressman John Doolittle. The protest was held in front of the Sacramento Hyatt Hotel across from the State Capitol. (Gov. Schwarzenegger, who lives at the hotel, quietly left town the night before.)

Read a report on AfterDowningStreet and see photos on San Francisco Indymedia.

National Day of Out(r)age: Protesting the Telcos

Protests against the telecommunications giants AT&T, Bell South and Verizon were organized across the country. The protests focused not only on the handing over of phone records to the NSA, but also Net Neutrality, public access TV and red-lining in low-income and rural communities.

Read reports, see photos and video of New York City, Boston, San Francisco and Chicago on the SaveAccess web site as well as the Media Policy Blog.

Activists Disrupt Univ of California Regents Meeting

Anti-nuke/demilitarization activists from around the state disrupted the University of California Regents meeting at UC San Francisco. Students and activists voiced opposition to "UC's vital role in the production of weapons of mass destruction. Through it's management of both Los Alamos National Lab and Lawrence Livermore, UC employees have designed every nuclear weapon in the U.S. arsenal."

Read reports and see photos on the Santa Cruz Indymedia web site.

Dallas Women in Black Targeted by Homeland Security

"On Thursday, May 4, two sisters from Women in Black were the subjects of a Homeland Security sting in front of the Federal Building on Houston Street. We had stood in front of the building every Thursday for several weeks, without incident when three Homeland Security cars zoomed onto the scene and officers handed out citations for blocking the entranceway when we were six feet from the door. We returned the following Thursday, May 11, at our regularly scheduled time.

In a week’s time, word had circulated and an action of two became a cause for many. We were joined by an ACLU observer and members of Code Pink, Camp Casey Alumni, Pax Christi, Veterans for Peace, the Dallas Peace Center, Camp Casey Dallas, North Texas for Justice and Peace, Richland College Institute for Peace, Cathedral of Hope and the Peace and Justice Center-Arlington. The Veterans for Peace bus, driven by Jim Goodnow, literally made the rounds for the duration of the vigil."

Read the full report and an article on CounterPunch.

Send us reports or photos of activism in the U.S. via email.

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